Mission Creek in Kelowna is no longer on a flood watch.
On Tuesday, B.C.’s River Forecast Centre downgraded Mission Creek to a high streamflow advisory from a flood watch following two days of periodic rain.
The Ministry of Forests says Mission Creek’s flow peaked on July 4 at 55 cubic metres per second, then receded to 41.2 cubic metres per second on Monday night. Currently, the creek is flowing at 37 cubic metres per second.
“A period of unsettled weather brought rain showers, including locally intense thundershowers, across southern British Columbia,” said the Ministry of Forests.
“Between 10 to 40 mm of rain has fallen throughout the region since July 3. However, given the convective nature of this precipitation, it is likely that specific regions and watersheds saw more rain and high rainfall rates within the last 24 hours.”
While Mission Creek was downgraded, the Southern Interior – including the Okanagan, Similkameen, Boundary and West Kootenay regions — and southeast B.C. remain on a high streamflow advisory.
Looking ahead, the ministry says current forecasts suggest continued flow recession.
“Indeed, weather forecasts for the south Interior indicate less rain totals to the end of the week than we experienced over the past 72 hours, although unsettled weather is forecast to continue into Friday,” said the ministry.
“Convective rain is difficult to forecast in advance with accuracy and precision, and so this high streamflow remains in place for the south Interior in recognition that unsettled weather is forecast into the end of this week, where smaller watersheds are more vulnerable to the impact of regionally intense rainstorms.”